


The Target Boys

by jongkey_krisho



Category: Target (Korea Band)
Genre: Chaos, College AU, High School AU, M/M, Rich Boys, Romance, Smut, Target, baekgyeol is from great guys btw, friendships, i didnt want zeth to be lonely, teens being stupid, the store not the kpop band, tho this is the kpop band too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: Zeth has never had money, coming from a broke family. Minhyun needs a new addition to put in his college applications. Seulchan wants a discount. Hyogi has never had an allowance. Youngwoong joins because of his best friend Hyogi. Junghak joins because he fell in love with Youngwoong. And Woojin is the normal one who just wants to work there.In other words, 7 teenagers and young adults apply to work in a Target store, and chaos ensues.
Relationships: Ju Youngwoong | Roi/Im Junghak | Boun, Kim Hyogi | G.I/Son Minhyun | Hyun, Kim Jaemin | Zeth/Jung Semin | Baekgyeol, Lee Woojin/Jeon Junggeun | Seulchan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Fuck Capitalism

**Author's Note:**

> another book part of my "Explore Unknown Bands" project. Slower updates than my other main fics but still maybe once a week. Highly recommend the group

“High school is so boring,” Youngwoong said, leaning against the lockers has Hyogi put his stuff away. “You think that as juniors, we would get to do more fun stuff.”

Hyogi took out his last textbook, some monstrosity thing for Korean history, and placed it on the top shelf, thankful that he didn’t need it for tonight to do his homework. “If you want to join a club now, don’t bother,” Hyogi said, closing his locker shut. “It’s May.”

“If only we followed the school years like the US,” Youngwoong said, sighing. “Don’t they start like August and end in May?”

“Yeah, for us Koreans it starts in freaking March.” Hyogi zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. “Time for self study, I guess.”

“Ah, come on, no one does self study anymore,” Youngwoong said. He took out his phone and showed Hyogi the time on his phone, 3:45 PM. “We should go eat at a restaurant.”

Hyogi glared at him. “You know I don’t get an allowance.”

“Ah, come on, I get 20,000 won a week, that should be enough for us to get some ramen at the convenience store,” Youngwoong pleaded. He got down on his knees in front of Hyogi, holding his hands. “Please please please  _ please  _ go and get ramen with me.”

“You can’t just spend all your money for me,” Hyogi scolded him. 

Youngwoong pouted. “But you’re my best friend.”

“Who should not spend all his money on me.” Hyogi took out his own phone, seeing the 2 missed messages of his mother reminding him to pick up a package from the post office. “Youngwoong, you barely get enough money for yourself as it is.”

Youngwoong shrugged. “Money is money, you know. Besides, my family may be working class but at least we make ends meet,” he added. “Come on, let’s go get ramen, please? You shouldn’t deny a gift from a friend.”

Hyogi squinted his eyes at Youngwoong before sighing. “Okay,  _ fine _ .”

“YAY! Ramen!” Youngwoong shouted, getting up from the floor and pulling Hyogi’s arm away from the locker, dragging him to the doors of the school. “We can even study if you want to, since you’re LAME, you know.”

That earned Youngwoong a slap on his arm. He yelped in pain, Hyogi ignoring his cries. “We have to study to get a good JOB to get money,” he said. “It’s why I don’t pity rich motherfuckers. They’re over here with their expensive cars while I can barely eat ramen.”

***

Junghak opened the passenger seat of his Mercedes-Benz, throwing in carelessly his backpack before shutting the door, heading back to the driver’s spot. 

His college classes have ended for the day. He was just a freshman, here at Seoul National University, but was already doing well with his business classes and getting along with the professors. He was going to have some projects due soon, but it was nothing he could handle; he had a lot of experience from his father’s company. 

He was feeling a bit hungry, but he didn’t want to go back to the mansion. Maybe he should head to his flat, a penthouse in one of the tall buildings in the city, which is closer to the university. He can order some take out and eat quickly before getting ready for the meeting at the restaurant in the evening, where his father and mother were dining with one of their business partners. 

Speaking of dinner, the maid must have picked up his dry cleaning today, so everything was ready to go. She came by once a week to clean the house, and the cook would come twice to cook for him. Sure, the penthouse was big, but Junghak didn’t really do much in it, so it wasn’t usually untidy. 

He got in the driver’s seat and changed the gear shift from park to drive, pulling out of the parking lot. He should head to the convenience store, get some box dinners and sandwiches or some shit before heading home. The cabinets in his flat were empty of snacks and he had forgotten to ask the maid to fill it up. 

The drive to the convenience store was a short one, maybe five minutes, since it was used by the university students and the high schoolers nearby. It was one of the rundown ones, though, so it was pretty empty; from the front windows, he could see maybe three people inside. 

He parked and got out, making sure to lock the door before heading inside, going straight to where the drinks were. Since he was drinking, he couldn’t have his soju, so the monster energy drinks would have to be. 

Two of the three people were standing nearby, one of them carrying a two liter cherry coke, the other carrying two ramen bowls. “I think this is everything we need,” the taller one said, heading to the cash register, a very bored teen on duty. “Maybe we can get skittles?”

“Youngwoong, don’t blow your money on food,” the other scolded him. “You said just two ramen cups.”

“But it’s snacks, though!”

Junghak paid no attention to them, grabbing his can of monster from the cooler. High schoolers, he figured, since they usually didn’t have a job to buy stuff. Well, not that Junghak ever had that problem anyways. 

He turned to find some pretzels when he got a clear view of the taller one, the one who was probably Youngwoong. He looked fine, Junghak admitted. Definitely handsome. Good thing Junghak was bi, although the teen looked like those who would wait three months till they hold hands. 

There was no denying he was hot, though, as he watched him and his friend hurry to the register to pay for their snacks, giving Junghak good enough time to stare at the young beauty. 

Eh. He’ll never see him again, most likely. This was a convenience store, after all.

***

When the convenience store was about to close at midnight, Baekgyeol entered the store, a small box of chocolate donuts in hand. “How was work today?”

Zeth had taken out the money from the register, organizing them when he noticed Baekgyeol who entered. “Pretty empty today, but filled up during the night,” Zeth said, wrapping the notes of won with rubber bands. “Can you close the doors real quick?” 

Baekgyeol set the box of donuts on the counter as Zeth handed him the key. “You know I would do anything for my lovely boyfriend.” 

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Zeth headed to the back to put the money in the safe. “Make sure no one is milling around looking suspicious.”

“Roger that.” Baekgyeol sprinted to the doors to lock them up, thankful there weren’t people in the store trying to overstay their welcome like usual.

He turned around to see Zeth come back, a mischievous grin on his face. “Looks like we’re alone, love.”

“Hopefully, if we weren’t, that would be pretty bad.” Zeth didn’t bother to look at him, writing something on a clipboard. “I still need to go home and do homework real quick before sleeping.”

“Ah, can’t you give homework a rest? It’s Friday after all.” Baekgyeol walked slowly to the counter, taking out one of the chocolate donuts and taking a bite slowly. “I think I have sugar on my lips.”

He leaned forward, waiting for Zeth to kiss him, only to feel a napkin wipe the crumbs on his face. “You need to be more hygienic,” Zeth scolded him, tossing the napkin in the trash behind him before continuing his work. “I guess I can have an hour or two free, but I’ll probably crash any minute.”

“We can go to my apartment,” Baekgyeol said, grinning. “Maybe watch Netflix or something.” 

“Sounds good, though I should probably make dinner, knowing you, you haven’t eaten yet, right?” Zeth asked him. Baekgyeol’s immediate silence told him everything. “I knew it."

“I just wasn’t hungry, it’s not like I was playing video games or something,” Baekgyeol lied. He took another bite of his donut, which was already down to half. “I hate that you work so much.”

“You know my family needs the money,” Zeth reminded him, grabbing one of the donuts that Baekgyeol was always bringing. “Besides, you’re a college freshman, I’m only a high school senior.”

“Yeah, yeah, all of that, etc, BUT-” Baekgyeol pointed at Zeth’s face. “Your health is important.”

“You want to say that again while eating a donut?” 

Baekgyeol pouted. “Don’t make fun of my donuts.”

“I wasn’t, love, I promise,” Zeth said, pressing a quick kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. “Let me get my bag in the back and we can leave.”   
  
***

After filling out five different scholarship applications, Minhyun went straight to work to continue writing his college essays. He had six different universities he was applying for, though his goals were to get into the SKY universities, preferably Yonsei University. 

He did a quick outline of ideas he could mention in his essays when he decided to look up some more information on the internet of what people wrote for theirs for inspiration. If he wanted to get in, he had to use the most foolproof method possible.

A lot of them talk about how you shouldn’t worry about your application looking chock full, but Minhyun knew this wasn’t true for Korea; they wanted to see all the stuff that you did. If you had the grades, the test scores, the activities and the awards, you would look really good for university. 

One of the pages was talking about having a job will also make you look good, since it meant you go do adult responsibilities now and learned a variety of skills, like time management and customer service, which was important to know in the real world. 

Minhyun had been thinking about working, if he was honest, but his parents were telling him he should pay attention to his studies and his studies only. No work, no girlfriend, no games. Only school. 

He wrote  _ job? _ on a sticky note and put it on the wall in front of his desk, deciding he’ll go back to it later. 

***

“These video games are so expensive!” Seulchan said, looking at the PC games in the store. “I have much better luck buying them online.”

“Then buy them online,” his younger brother, Wonwoo said. “Mom isn’t going to buy them for you.”

“Of course she won’t,” Seulchan said, staring longfully at the game in front of him. “We should go to another store, see if it’s cheaper somewhere else.”

Seulchan sprinted down the hallway, where his mother was nearby, checking the price on a lamp. “Mom, there’s this new game-”

“Absolutely not,” she said, ignoring him. “The games here are expensive.”

“Then can we go to another store?” he asked, getting out his phone to look at some stores nearby. “Look, there’s a Target that just opened a few blocks from here-”

“I’m not going to waste more gas.” She grabbed the lamp and handed it to Seulchan. “Go put this in the cart for me, it’s for your uncle’s birthday.”

“Uncle Jungkook is wack,” Seulchan muttered, setting the lamp carefully in the cart before marching his way back to the game aisle, where his younger brother was still looking at the games. 

Seulchan sulked. “Mom said no to both.”

“Too bad our parents don’t work at a place that gives discounts,” Wonwoo said, turning back to the game on his iPod. “Or you. You’re seventeen, you get to do a lot.”

“Maybe I should just work at a store for the discounts,” Seulchan admitted. “I bet you a quarter that if I go check out the CDs here, too, they’re going to be expensive as fu- fudge.”

Wonwoo’s eyes widened. “MOM! SEULCHAN SAID A BAD WORD!”

“I DID NOT-”

His mother looked at the two brothers causing a commotion. “JEON JUNGGEUN AND JEON WONWOO!”

“Not my real name! I didn’t do anything!”

  
  


***

Woojin was on his laptop, after having finished his favorite Korean drama on Netflix. He didn’t feel like looking for a new show to watch, so he got on his Twitter feed to check out current news when an ad caught his eye. 

A Target had just opened here in Seoul, close to his apartment here. They were looking for more employees to apply for work.

He didn’t really need money, since his parents sent him money for personal use while he was here as a freshman at Seoul National University, but it couldn’t hurt to get a job, right? It could be fun. 

He clicked on the ad, taking him to the careers page, filling out the application before going back to Twitter.


	2. Apply to Handle THIS Stupidity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello sorry i was gone for the weekend, don't worry im back to updating

During lunch at school, Hyogi was typing away on his laptop, not paying attention to his lunch of rice and chicken in front of him. 

He had been thinking about last week, when Youngwoong bought him all those snacks. He kept feeling guilty every time his friend bought him food when Hyogi didn’t have money to repay him back, so he decided to get a job so that he could have some spending money. 

Sometimes when Hyogi hung out with his friend, it was usually the library since Hyogi was pretty adamant about using the self study time, or maybe a visit to the park here or there if it was warm outside. Most of their visits, though, consisted of one of them staying over at the other’s house. 

Hyogi got permission from his parents to apply for a job, being given the limit to work 15 hours or less per week, so he spent most of his night applying for easy retail and restaurant positions. Right now, he was applying for the new Target that just opened a few blocks from his house, making this his sixth job application. 

Youngwoong came over to their table, setting his tray down. “You, they had grapes today as fruit for lunch.”

“Yeah, I saw,” Hyogi said, typing in his phone number. “Just give me a minute, I’m almost done with this.”

“Oh?” Youngwoong leaned over to see what Hyogi was doing on the computer. “I thought you finished all your homework last night.”

“I did, I’m just applying for jobs,” Hyogi explained, finishing his contact info on the website. “Figured working a few hours would give me a decent allowance."

Youngwoong’s eyes lit up. “You just gave me an idea.”

Hyogi raised an eye, still not looking away from his screen. “I am confused but continue.”

“We can be work buddies!” Youngwoong explained. “Think of all the money, we can finally buy more snacks during our sleepovers!”

“Of course your mind immediately goes to snacks,” Hyogi said, rolling his eyes. “Youngwoong, don’t work just because of me-”

“Nonsense, we’re best friends, we have to do this together.” Youngwoong took out his phone and immediately went to the Target website, searching for careers. “Plus, if one of us ever gets in trouble, we can always defend each other.”

“Don’t tell me you’re already planning on getting in trouble,” Hyogi said, slapping Youngwoong’s arm. “If we’re going to work together, we have to be serious.”

Youngwoong nodded. “Okay, mom, I promise not to get murdered in Target. I would feel bad if you have to clean up the blood spill.”

Hyogi went back to typing on the laptop. “You’re such a considerate friend.”

“No, but seriously, it would really be fun if we work together,” Youngwoong continued. “We can work shifts together and maybe I can even persuade my parents to  _ finally  _ lend me one of their cars to drive! That’ll be fun!”

“You don’t have your driver’s license, though,” Hyogi pointed out. 

Youngwoong smiled. “Well, guess what I’ll be doing this weekend.”   
  


***

“What are you doing?” Wonwoo came to the desktop computer in the living room, where Seulchan was typing stuff on it. “Mom said it’s my turn on the computer.”

“Mom  _ also  _ said that I can get a job,” Seulchan said, continuing to type on the keyboard. “Just give me five more minutes-”

“MOM!” Wonwoo shouted. “SEULCHAN WON’T LET ME BE ON THE COMPUTER-”

“Wonwoo, not now!” Seulchan looked at his identification card to type in his number. “Ah, fu-fudge, give me one more second-”

“MOM!! MOM!!”

“-I’ll buy you and your friend Mingyu an ice cream cone with my first paycheck, okay?!” Seulchan yelled at him. Why did it always feel like his brother was out to get him? 

Wonwoo smiled like the devil himself, walking away. “Promise?”

“Yeah, now go away, I’m almost done.”

“MOM! SEULCHAN SAID TO GO AWAY-”

“JEON JUNGGEUN-”

“MOM! I don’t go by Junggeun!”

***

Minhyun stared at the email he had gotten a few minutes ago. 

He had applied to a couple of scholarships and realized he should be getting responses by this week. Out of the three for this week, he had only gotten an email for one of them, saying that he did not win it. He wasn’t bothered by it, though; it was just one email, anyways, and it was a low amount, only around one hundred dollars since it was a random drawing. 

No, the email he was looking at was from a job he had applied to last week. 

Going against the obedient side of him, he had searched up job listings and found a Target which had just opened and was in dire need of employees. He applied and didn’t give it a second though, since he was a mere high school student with no experience, limited transportation and hours, and focus on school. 

Yet here he was, being asked if he could attend for a short interview. 

He could feel his heart thump against his chest. His parents were  _ not  _ going to approve of it. They were going to scold him, saying he went behind their backs. He’s going to be losing time for school, for studying, for writing essays for college applications and scholarships. Did he not care about going to a good university? Did he want to end up like one of those low-class parents with a girl he impregnated before twenty and struggled to make ends meet? Didn’t he want to live comfortably?

He  _ would  _ go behind their backs and say he was spending all his time studying at the library or something, but they would know if something was up since he wouldn’t be able to answer his phone and still spend more time doing work at home. Plus, he was a minor, his parents had to get involved. 

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down. Surely there was a rational reason he could give them to let them agree to the idea. 

Minhyun would have just put it off and gone back to studying, but it’s not good to study with a busy mind, so he sighed and got out of his seat, heading to the living room where his parents were watching tv. 

His mother was the first one to realize him standing there in silence. “Hey, Hyun, what’s wrong? Weren’t you doing homework right now?”

“Let me guess, good news about a scholarship?” his father added. 

Minhyun shook his head. “No, but I have been reading college and scholarship blogs for advice, and I did something they recommended I do.”

His father nodded. “Well, what is it?”

Taking a deep breath, Minhyun took his phone from behind his back to show them the email. “I applied for a job and I got it,” he explained. “They’re asking me to interview."

His parents stared at him with wide eyes. “What- what did you just say?” his father shouted. 

His mother shook her head. “Minhyun, you shouldn’t be getting a job, you should be focused on your studies-”

“Yeah, but a lot of universities are also working for students who do a variety of things, not just homework,” Minhyun explained. “They also want kids who participate in clubs and volunteer and can handle a job, not just study-”

“Nonsense, you don’t have to worry about that if you get good grades,” his father scolded. “Go back to your room and continue doing your work, don’t let me see you slacking again.”   
  


  
***

Zeth knew that technically agreed to arrive at Baekgyeol's apartment after his shift ended, around 11 PM, but considering how he was practically fired five minutes ago, there was no need to wait that long.

He knocked on Baekgyeol’s door again, scolding himself mentally as to why he didn’t text first. Of course, they’ve been dating for a few months and have already made it a habit to visit each other's places unannounced, but Zeth had conveniently forgotten that they were still students and it was the middle of the week. 

Sighing, he gave one last knock before turning around, ready to head home when the door unexpectedly opened. 

“Pizza- oh, hey, love!” Baekgyeol gave Zeth a back hug, which is when Zeth felt his boyfriend’s wet, bare abdomen on him. Baekgyeol must have been showering when he had been knocking. “Why are you here so early? Don’t you have work?”

Zeth sighed. “I got fired,” he said slowly, releasing himself from Baekgyeol’s grip to turn around and look at him. “Can’t work somewhere if you’re not an employee.”

Baekgyeol’s eyes widened. “Yo-your  _ fired _ ? But- wait, but  _ why? _ Did someone get in a fight with you or report you or, yo, I’m about to go over to the manager and ask them what’s their problem-”

“The manager aka the owner is in jail, Baekgyeol, you can’t really do anything,” Zeth corrected him. 

Baekgyeol stared at him for a few seconds. “Wait, what?”

“So today I worked at the restaurant,” Zeth explained. “I’m like, two hours into my shift when a bunch of police came in and it turned out that the owner had a meth lab in the basement, so yeah, none of us have jobs anymore.” He looked at Baekgyeol who appeared to be in shock. “So yeah, you can’t really do anything.”

“Well, uh-” Baekgyeol scratched the back of his neck, looking away from Zeth. “I did not see that coming- anyways, get inside, I ordered pizza and it should be coming anytime now.”

“You’re like, half-naked,” Zeth pointed out. Baekgyeol had a towel wrapped around his waist. “Only you would eat pizza like that.”

Baekgyeol raised an eyebrow, smirking. “You can take care of that if you want.”

Zeth’s face turned red. “I did not come here for a dick appointment- Baekgyeol, get dressed, I’m not having sex with you at six pm, can’t you wait till, like, nine or something.” He pushed Baekgyeol back into his apartment, closing the door behind them. “First I need to find another  _ job _ .”

“Oh, there’s this Target store that just opened up,” Baekgyeol suggested, watching his boyfriend take off his shoes. “You can try applying there-”

They both heard another knock on the door. 

“Yes, pizza’s here!” Baekgyeol opened the door again, where the delivery man was holding his box of pepperoni pizza. “YES!!”

“BAEKGYEOL, YOU’RE STILL HALF NAKED-”   
  
***

Junghak was eating dinner with his parents at a business dinner, the two chatting away with their work partners. Usually he would participate in these conversations, but frankly, after someone crashed into his favorite Mercedes-Benz and now he was stuck using a Lamborghini, only to go home and discover that his maid had quit, left him in fury today. 

“Oh, Junghak here is a really good negotiator,” his father said, praising him. “You don’t know how many good deals we have been delighted to be a part of thanks to him.”

“Living up to the Im family name, I see.” The man, some guy named Junsoo, picked up his glass of wine. “You must be proud to have him as your son.”

“Yeah, I have no doubt in my mind that the company will be in good hands when I pass it to him,” his father continued, turning to look at Junghak’s mother. “Isn’t that right dear?”

She nodded. “Certainly.”

Junghak picked up another piece of asparagus on his plate, not paying attention as usual. His family  _ loved  _ to gloat about him, about how he would take care of the company, of how he would find a beautiful wife one day and have children, how good his business studies have been in the university. 

Speaking of his future wife, Junsoo soon turned his attention to him. “Have you been seeing any wonderful women lately?” He asked Junghak. “It shouldn’t be hard for someone with your appearance and wit to find some women to make her fall for you.”

Junghak bit down his instinct to roll his eyes. His family knew he was bi, but they always swept it under the rug, desperate to not let that secret get out. Sure, he might still be with a woman, but that wasn’t the  _ only  _ possibility. 

Besides, he didn’t even want to date right now. He didn’t have time to worry after other people. Last girl he had seen had complained about how boring he was, so Junghak broke up with her and there. He wasn’t going to be with someone as negative as her. 

His parents and the business leaders kept talking to each other as normal, Junghak staring at his plate the entire time.

  
  


***

“I bet you’re watching television again,” Woojin’s mother yelled at him on the phone. 

Woojin rolled his eyes, even though she couldn’t see him. He didn’t have the camera activated, only speaker mode, as he was washing dishes. “Eomma, why would I be watching television while talking with you?”

“Because you never do anything productive,” she scolded at him. “You’re at university now, son, you always have to be doing something.”

He grabbed another plate and scrubbed the sponge over it. “I applied for a job the other day,” Woojin explained, holding the plate under the running water. “I have an interview tomorrow. Apparently since they’re hiring a lot of people, they want to do it as soon as possible to not waste time.”

“A job, that’ll teach you responsibility,” she said. “Though to be fair, you have always been more responsible than your brother Taemin, he’s twelve and he’s already  _ obsessed  _ with video games.”

“That’s Taemin for you,” Woojin said, turning off the faucet to dry his hands. “I never understood people’s obsession for video games.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soon they'll meet each other... soon.... this is a crack fic, after all


	3. Orientation? Like Being Gay?

“How did you even pass your driver’s license again?!” Hyogi screeched, one hand grabbing the overhead handle, another the edge of his seat. “You’re going to get us killed before we even get here!”

“Stop exaggerating Hyogi, I am  _ not  _ breaking any law!” Youngwoong said, stepping on the gas pedal. “Yet!”

Hyogi’s eyes were practically bulging out of his sockets. How in the world did Youngwoong’s parents trust him to drive again? “I’m going to throw up.”

“Don’t throw up in my car, we don’t have time to clean it!” Youngwoong yelled at him, abruptly stopping the car when they reached the red stoplights. Despite being Saturday, Hyogi was  _ really  _ thankful that there weren’t that many cars on the road who would report Youngwoong to the cops. “Look, we’re going to arrive just in time for orientation! Everything’s going to be fine, we’re going to earn money, meet cute boys and buy snacks! It’s all going to be great!”

Hyogi aggressively shook his head, closing his eyes. “No it’s not.”

Youngwoong, taking advantage that they were at a stop, took a quick sip of his water bottle. They had gotten ready at his house earlier, trying to follow what the store had sent them in the email about dressing protocol. He hated wearing this ugly red shirt and khaki pants, but he knew that he and Hyogi looked stylish in them. 

He set his water bottle down again when the light turned green, so he rapidly pressed against the gas pedal and put his hands on the steering wheel, driving fast again. “We’re going to Target, yeah!! We’re going to have so much fun-”

“It’s a job, Youngwoong, it’s not supposed to be fun!” Hyogi screamed at him, shutting his mouth quickly when he felt something go up his throat. “Fuck-”

“HYOGI DON’T THROW UP IN THE CAR, I DON’T HAVE TIME TO MAKE A U-TURN AND RETURN HOME!” Youngwoong screeched again, watching Hyogi cover his mouth. 

He made a sudden stop near the side of the road, looking at his sick friend. “Please tell me you aren’t dead, you promised we would go to homecoming as friends!! I don’t want to go alone-”

Hyogi rolled his eyes, taking Youngwoong’s water bottle. “THAT is what you’re worried about concerning me being dead?!” 

Youngwoong pouted. “It’s a legitimate concern- hey, don’t drink my water!! I’m thirsty!!”

“I am literally about to throw up,” Hyogi reminded him, opening his car door. “Let me drive, I don’t trust you anymore.”

“But- you don’t have a driver’s license,” Youngwoong said, clutching tightly to the steering wheel. “No, please you can’t do this to me-”

Hyogi walked around the car and stood in front of Youngwoong’s door, glaring at him through the window.

“Okay, FINE!” he said. He went to unbuckle his seat belt but realized he didn’t even have it on in the first place, so he just opened the door and let Hyogi get it. “But you have to let me stay over at your house today. Promise.”

  
***

  
  


“Promise me that you’ll be on your best behavior,” Seulchan’s mother was telling him while dropping him off in front of the store. “Please don’t act like an idiot.”

Seulchan rolled his eyes, unbuckling his seat belt. “Mom, I’m seventeen, I can legally get tried for murder as an adult- ow!”

His mother slapped him on the arm. “Don’t talk stupid, just act like a responsible adult, please."

Wonwoo in the back started laughing. “Haha, mom hit Junggeun-”

“It’s SEULCHAN! I hate that name.” He opened the passenger car door and tugged his shirt collar, hating how it felt like it was choking him. “Bye mom! I’ll text you when to pick me up-”

“I can’t, I’m taking your brother Wonwoo to the PTA meeting,” his mother said, setting the car to drive. “Be safe when you walk home, sweetie!"

“What the- MOM!” Seulchan yelled, running after his mother who was already driving away. “Mom!! Seriously?!”

She drove away, leaving Seulchan alone in front of the Target store. 

Was he supposed to walk home? Really? He didn’t have money for a bus or anything, and it’s not like he came here by biking. 

_ Welcome to another episode of mom preferring Wonwoo over me _ , he thought to himself, walking into the store in his ugly ass outfit. 

  
  


***

  
  


Minhyun couldn’t believe he was here.

He had gone against his parent’s orders and accepted the interview at the Target store, heading there one day in secret when he was supposedly at the library. They told him he was a good candidate, apparently, and a few days later was told to come in for an orientation along with five other people who had applied. 

Minhyun dressed like he normally did for the library, a pair of jeans and his hoodie, his backpack with study materials. However, he hid the uniform in his bag as well, hoping it doesn’t get wrinkled by the time he gets there. 

He entered the grocery store next to the Target, heading to the bathrooms to change there. It did not get wrinkled, thankfully, but his hair was a bit messed up, so he fixed it in front of the mirrors, adding some water to make it look nicer. 

Walking out of the grocery store was weird, considering the looks the workers were giving him, but he ignored them as he walked out and headed into the Target next door. 

The store looked pretty empty; there weren't many people walking around, some displays not fully stocked yet. There was only one person at a cash register, a bored middle aged woman who rolled her eyes at him when she saw him. 

“ _ Another  _ teenage trainee?” she said, sighing when she took out a walkie talkie. “Sir, you got another guy waiting.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m here for the… orientation,” Minhyun trailed off, holding his bag close to him. 

“Yeah, just sit somewhere, the manager will be here soon,” she said in a bored tone, pointing at one of the silver benches lined against a near wall. “He has his hands busy.”

Minhyun bowed down and headed towards the silver bench, sitting on it quietly. Gosh, how he wished his parents weren’t against him working, they would have been able to give him tips on how to do everything. 

The woman walked away, leaving Minhyun alone there, when he saw two people enter the store, one dressed in uniform like him and the other in regular clothes. 

“You don’t have to follow me to Target, Baekgyeol,” the one in uniform said. “Don’t you have an assignment due for one of your classes?”

The one named Baekgyeol rolled his eyes. “Nah, besides, I have the sudden urge to make pasta for dinner now, only because I love you-”

The woman came back, some boxes in hand. “Oh, good, you're the last trainee, the manager is coming for both of you guys soon,” she said, opening it to stack some candy. “God, millennials are so annoying.”

***   
  
There were six of them in the room, all dressed in the same tacky uniform. 

Woojin was scrolling through his phone, looking at twitter news again. Some Youtuber getting cancelled, some KPOP singer who posted a selfie, the US president being a racist bastard again. The usual, he supposed. Pretty boring just like his timeline. 

He turned off his phone and looked around the room again. Two of the trainees here appeared to be friends, as they were constantly whispering to each other, every once in a while smacking each other. 

He looked at the person besides him. Some teenager, probably a bit younger than him, was playing a game on his phone, titling his phone aggressively like if it were a steering wheel. 

The other two guys in the room were silent like Woojin, and no one dared to speak to one another. 

He opened his phone again and was about to get on Instagram when the door of the backroom opened, revealing the manager. 

“Okay, guys, time for your orientation!” he said in an exaggerated happy voice that made Woojin want to cringe. 

How he hoped these people wouldn’t turn out to be his coworkers. 

  
  


***

Orientation was pretty simple. Woojin was the only one who was a college student, and along with Zeth, the only ones who have worked before, so they were let go pretty easily and left to do their own thing. The other four, which were inexperienced high school students, were a bit more complicated to say the least. 

The manager seemed to think that Hyogi caught on very quickly and also let him go, letting him be on the cash register for the time being. 

Hyogi did not like to work with the cash register. He had a deathly fear of accidentally giving too much change back to a customer or accepting a false 100 dollar bill causing the Target corporation to sue him and his family. 

Also, he had conveniently forgotten he hates talking to people. 

He stared at the register, trying to remember how the manager instructed them to do returns. The woman in front of him was returning a picture frame that she said that suddenly looked ugly compared to the rest of the wallpaper in her house, and she wanted a return now. Hyogi was pretty sure she was a Karen. 

He started to freak out. He didn’t know how to handle this transaction. What if the woman got angry at him and asked to speak to the manager? What if he did something wrong and accidentally returned her a thousand dollars and the store sued him and he got grounded for the rest of his life and-

Another trainee who had entered with him, some high school student (who was he kidding, practically all of them were high school students) was walking by, probably also done with his orientation too, and Hyogi started praying to god despite being atheist that this guy would be able to help him. 

“Uh, ma’am, can you give me  _ one  _ second please? I have to consult my co-worker,” Hyogi said, stepping out of the cash register quickly to yell after the guy’s name. Thank god he had his name tag on. “Uh, Minhyun, Minhyun, can you help me please?”

Minhyun looked at him, confused, walking up to him. This was the first set of words they have exchanged with each other. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”

Hyogi tried not to die from the angry glares the customer was giving him. “Do you remember how to do returns?” he whispered nervously. “I know we’re both new, but I really don’t remember.”

Minhyun leaned close to Hyogi, pressing a few buttons on the register. “You have to press here,” he explained, pressing a large yellow button, which led to a pop up. “Then you scanned the receipt on the barcode reader.”

“How long is this going to take?” the customer angrily asked them, tapping her foot. “Can I see the manager?”

“Don’t worry, ma’am, he’s new,” Minhyun said, scanning the receipt. “You click on the item being returned and it’s pretty easy from there.”

Hyogi clicked on the picture frame selection on the screen and scanned the barcode of the actual frame being returned. “Your change will be 12.94,” he told the customer. 

“Finally, you guys just lost a customer,” she said, huffing as Hyogi gave her the return receipt and her change. 

When she walked away, Hyogi placed the picture frame in the plastic bag the woman had brought it in. “Thanks for helping me, you were really god,” he said softly. “I was really scared that I was going to get in trouble.”

“It’s fine, it really just takes a lot of memorization,” Minhyun said. This was the first time he had been complemented for something that didn’t have to do with school. “I don’t like customers like her.”

Hyogi nodded in understanding. “Yeah me neither, but- wait, why did you act like the manager when she asked to see him?”

Minhyun shrugged, grinning. “I didn’t say I was the manager, I just said you were new.”

“Ah- I'm pretty sure that’s illegal!” Hyogi exclaimed, laughing. He couldn’t  _ believe  _ a new trainee like him would pull a stunt like that. Youngwoong he would expect but not  _ this  _ guy. “You’re going to get in trouble one of these days.”

Minhyun tried not to think about lying to his parents about his whereabouts. “I won’t get in trouble,” he said calmly. “You just got to know how to persuade these people-”

The two of them were interrupted when Youngwoong appeared. “Hyogi, look at us, becoming people of the working class!” he joked. “I didn’t even know we got discounts here! We should definitely buy our snacks here.”

_ Always trust on Youngwoong to just start talking about snacks _ , Hyogi thought, smiling. Maybe this job wasn’t going to be so bad, after all, he had his best friend beside him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall i finally made a book cover for this fic, yall can see it on AFF or Wattpad  
> I KNOW THEY'RE WEARING JEANS AND A WHITE SHIRT ON IT A PICTURE OF THEM IN TARGET UNIFORMS DOES NOT EXIST OKAY


	4. Hungry and Tired are on my Schedule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stream Is It True

Junghak was bored in his penthouse, doing nothing while watching Netflix, when he had the sudden urge to have some chocolate. 

He wasn’t a big fan of sweets, preferring salty snacks instead, but he just had the random desire to have chocolate for no reason. Was he pregnant and had cravings or something? Probably not since he was a cisgender male, but… 

Actually, now that he thought of it, it was possible that the partner of someone pregnant could also have cravings as well, due to something in their saliva having a chemical or hormone that caused it. Was it true? He didn’t remember if it was something stupid on facebook or not, but hopefully it wasn’t, because he hooked up with this girl the third time in a row the other day and he did  _ not  _ want to be a father at the moment. 

His chocolate cravings were postponed for a couple minutes while he had a mental crisis wondering whether he used a condom or not, but then remembered that he used it  _ and  _ she was on the pill, so they were good. Hopefully. 

But back to the chocolate craving again. He  _ really  _ needed some chocolate right now. 

Junghak got up from the leather sofa and headed towards the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets to find something. Unfortunately, not only was there no chocolate to his dismay, but there was barely anything edible in general; a jar of peanut butter and jelly, a stale opened packet of saltine crackers, and two thousand island dressing bottles. 

No wonder the cook quit the other day. 

Well, there was nothing Junghak could do now, he  _ had  _ to go to the store. 

Junghak grumbled, marching back to the living room to put on his sandals, even though he was wearing socks. That chocolate bar was sounding really good right now and he was pissed that he didn’t have one. If he were in an ad, they would tell him to eat a Snickers-

Yes, he should get a Snickers. And a Milky Way and a Babe Ruth and a Reese’s cup and-

He thought of all the chocolates he was going to buy when he left his flat, using the elevator to go to the ground floor and heading to the garage to where the cars were parked. Maybe he should buy some chips, too, a couple stack of pringles to last him for the week. It’s not like he was going to get high cholesterol or something anyways, he always went to the gym everyday and exercised. Plus, you have to drink water between drinks if you don’t want to get drunk too quick. 

Junghak drove aimlessly, not having a particular store in mind when he saw the brand-new opened Target. Thinking it was a good place to buy candy and junk food, Junghak pulled over into the practically empty parking lot and got out of the car quickly, locking it with his remote car key and making his way to the store, list of snacks in mind. 

After five minutes of grabbing random shit from the shelves, plus a couple more energy drinks, Junghak walked up to the open register, stopping in his tracks for a second. 

The guy at the register looked really hot, in Junghak’s opinion. He had a strong feeling he had seen him before, but he couldn’t recall. He had a really perky grin on his face, probably some high school student, but Junghak couldn’t help but stare at him for a couple of seconds, admiring the view. 

Why did he always act this way when he saw someone looking gorgeous? For girls it was a bit easier, but being LGBT was really frowned upon in Korea, so he always had to be quiet about it whenever he saw an attractive man. 

He composed himself and walked to the register, where the high school employee noticed him and straightened himself up. “Hi! Welcome to Target, how may I help you today?”

Junghak tried to look as uninterested as possible, turning the basket over on the conveyor belt for the guy to scan. “Just getting food.”

The employee nodded and started scanning, so while he was doing that, Junghak took advantage of the time and checked him out more. The guy was wearing a nametag with the name Youngwoong on it, which Junghak assumed was his real name. A bit shorter than him, a messy mop of brown hair on him that had styling products that failed miserably, and way too eager. 

Oh well, eye candy over here probably wasn’t gay anyways. Not the first time nor the last that it happens to Junghak. 

Youngwoong was almost done with scanning when he noticed someone behind Junghak, yelling at them. “HYOGI!!!!! COME HERE, I MISS YOU!!!!”

“YOUNGWOONG WE ARE WORKING!” Junghak heard someone yell. He turned around to see a short teen shouting back at the gorgeous Youngwoong guy. “You have a customer in front of you, don’t talk to me, we don’t want to get fired on the first day!”

“That’s my friend Hyogi, he’s really cool,” Youngwoong told Junghak, bagging the last of the items in his hands. “We got jobs now, I can’t wait to stop being poor, your total is $42,200 won please!”

Junghak had to blink a couple of times to understand at least half of that ramble before pulling out his wallet and taking out his credit card. “Yeah, sure, uh, whatever-"

He handed his card to Youngwoong, who slid his card in the machine, handing the pin pad to him. “Just put in your pin and state whether it’s debit or credit and you’re done! I’ll give you your receipt.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Junghak mumbled, putting in his pin. “Let’s see, credit- ah, there.”

Youngwoong kept smiling, taking it back from him and tapping away on the computer, and Junghak started to suspect that this guy probably wasn’t even faking it and was genuinely content. People like that existed? Weird. 

“Here’s your receipt!” Youngwoong explained, putting it in one of the bags and handing them to him. “Have a good day and enjoy the snacks!”

“Oh, I definitely will,” Junghak mumbled, staring at the fine snack in front of him. 

He would liked to have stalled for some time but some dumb ass Karen got behind him complaining about some item she wanted not having a price, so Junghak had to get out of there quick if he didn’t want to look like an idiot. 

Junghak was walking out to the double doors when he noticed a taped-up poster on the glass, announcing that this new Target was still in need of employees. 

An idea popped up in his head. 

  
  


***

  
  


Seulchan stood outside in the blistering heat, eyes squirting at his phone screen, which had five percent and was going to die in twenty seconds cause he had a crappy battery. 

“I’m not going to make it home, aren’t I,” he muttered to himself, biting his lip. His mom was still not answering his texts, her phone on silent, and Seulchan didn’t know the way home. It was far, more than a ten minute drive, and Seulchan didn’t have any bus money. 

He pressed the call button on his phone and put it in his ear, knowing deep down his mother wasn’t going to answer but he had no idea what to do. Why did she go to PTO meetings anway, Wonwoo didn’t care about school!! Why did she always favor him, anyways, what if Seulchan got kidnapped on the way home or died from a car crashing into him or was murdered from a gang fight-

“Are you okay?” Seulchan turned around to see one of his new co-workers from earlier, some guy who looked bored most of the time. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

“I’m fine, my mother just doesn’t love me,” Seulchan explained, groaning in frustration when it went to voicemail. “And I have no idea how to get home. 

The guy, Woojin if Seulchan recalled correctly, seeing as he had his nametag already off, just shrugged. “I’ll take you home, it’s no big deal,” he said, walking off to the parking lot, keys in hand. “How far away do you live from here?”

“Wait, you’ll take me?” Seulchan asked, not really denying the offer; if he went home, that was great, it meant more time playing Minecraft, but if this Woojin guy murdered him that was a plus too. “Thank you so much, I live on carat street, it’s like a ten minute drive from here I think? My house is blue and ugly.”

Woojin unlocked some regular silver car which must be his and unlocked the passenger seat for Seulchan to sit at. “I forgot you guys are high school students.”

“Excuse me, I am seventeen, I’m practically in college by now,” Seulchan argued. “But I’m going to move out as soon as I turn eighteen anyways, I hate being a minor.”

Woojin got in his seat and turned on the car, putting on his seatbelt as Seulchan got in from the other side. “Being an adult isn’t that different from being a minor at first, if I’m honest. It’s not like I party or whatever it is that youth do these days.”

Seulchan made a face. “Ew, beer, that’s nasty, I stole a sip of my uncle once and it was disgusting, no wonder he only drinks banana milk.”

“Banana milk, don’t remember the last time I had some of that,” Woojin muttered, putting the car in drive, pulling out of the parking spot slowly. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve had milk in general, just water or tea.”

“Tea? I only like lemon tea,” Seulchan said. “There’s this internet cafe I go to that has really good tea, I love it, add some honey and BOOM, deliciousness.”

Woojin fought the urge to laugh, also not remembering the last time he went to an internet cafe. He’s just been focused on school, he assumed. “I’ll have to try it.”   
  


  
***

Around 2 AM that Saturday (though technically it was already Sunday), after completing both the Target orientation and his regular job at the convenience store, Zeth found himself lying with Baekgyeol on the latter’s bed, the two naked with only some sheets to cover themselves. 

Baekgyeol was playing with Zeth’s hair, admiring the softness of the strands. “You need to tell me what shampoo you use,” he said, leaning closer to inhale the sweet aroma. “God, I love your hair.”

Zeth rolled his eyes. “Baekgyeol, you know I have some of my shampoo here for when I shower, we  _ just  _ showered together twenty minutes ago.”

“Forgive me for wanting to forget that traumatic incident with the conditioner,” Baekgyeol said, thinking of how he accidentally squirted some in his eyes. Thankfully, the shower was after sex, so it didn’t matter whether he could see his hot naked boyfriend or not. “I like to forget about the past.”

“I’ll tell you that whenever you ask me about how work was,” Zeth muttered. 

Baekgyeol pouted, wrapping his arms around Zeth’s waist, burrowing his head on the latter’s shoulder. “No, you have to tell me, I want to know  _ everything _ ,” he insisted. “I like knowing about your day.”

“I mean, like I told you earlier, the Target store sounds really easy,” Zeth explained. “It’s just me and a bunch of students just earning some extra money or whatnot, and you know how the convenience store is.”

Baekgyeol, in fact, did know how the convenience store was, considering he visited Zeth three hours before his shift ended, donuts in hand as he stayed with his boyfriend, talking to him the entire time. 

“Your job at the convenience store is pretty chaotic, though,” Baekgyeol pointed out. “On a scale of one to ten, how chaotic do you think working at Target will be?”

Zeth shrugged. “Probably a two or three,” he admitted, rolling over to hug Baekgyeol. “I’m so tired, I just want to sleep.”

“Well,  _ someone  _ was tired earlier when they kept asking me to fuck-”

“Yes,  _ thank you  _ for that, Baekgyeol, I honestly forgot,” Zeth said sarcastically. “It might of been adrenaline, I don’t know, but I’m going to pass out any second now.”

Baekgyeol grinned, kissing all over his boyfriend’s face. “Good night my love.”   
  


  
***

“Youngwoong, it’s two in the morning,” Hyogi groaned, turning over on the bed as his friend beside him continued to chatter. “Let me sleep.”   
“But come on, don’t you find it weird how jellyfish are immortal?” Youngwoong asked him again. “It’s really odd and peculiar, makes you wonder.”

Hyogi groaned again, thinking of all his homework that he had to do tomorrow. “Why did I sign up for this job again?” he mumbled to himself.

“It was fun, wasn’t it?” Youngwoong asked him. “I like it, though the customers creep me out sometimes.”

“Yep, gotta hate Karens,” Hyogi agreed. “Youngwoong, please go to sleep, we have homework that we need to do tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure you haven’t started on your essay yet-”

“How DARE you talk about schoolwork at a sleepover,” Youngwoong scolded him, but did shut up after Hyogi’s comment. 

Until five seconds later when he blurted out, “I want some pizza rolls right now-”

“YOUNGWOONG, SLEEP!!!”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does anyone know how long seulchan will be on hiatus in real life? I'm worried, anyone has any news on any last updates he made?


	5. Working Class… I Hate Class

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry guys, ive had a lot of stuff going on, hope you guys like this chapter tho

It was Monday again, which meant another day of heading to the convenience store after school and staying there until midnight. 

Luckily, there were always long time periods of the store being dead empty, so he got plenty of time for himself. He had brought his backpack, so he was able to get a headstart on his homework when no one was indoors. 

He was scribbling out a formula for one of the math questions when he heard the bell chimed, meaning someone opened the door. Looking up, he quickly realized it was his boyfriend again. 

“I got donuts!” Baekgyeol exclaimed, walking towards the register to where Zeth was sitting at. “They had chocolate ones with sprinkles today, so I took a whole dozen.”

“I am  _ literally  _ going to die with all this sugar,” Zeth said, only to grab a donut when Baekgyeol opened the box. “But thank you for being so considerate.” 

Baekgyeol grabbed one of the stools that Zeth always left nearby for this particular reason and perched himself in front of the counter. “Did you eat lunch today?” he asked Zeth, grabbing one of the donuts for himself. “You better not be missing your meals again.”

Zeth rolled his eyes. “I’ll eat when I get home,” he said, taking a bite of the donut. 

“Zeth, we talked about this,” Baekgyeol reminded him. Good thing he brought his backpack; he knew his boyfriend was going to pull a stunt like this again. “You have to  _ eat _ .”

“I don’t have to eat lunch,” Zeth said, taking another bite of his donut. Not even two seconds later, his stomach growled, but he pretended not to notice. “Honest. I’m fine with just dinner, Gyeollie.” 

Baekgyeol squinted his eyes at him. He knew it was important for Zeth to eat, that he was lying to himself about not being hungry, but the latter came from a household where food was scarce and money didn’t exist. “I’ll be right back,” he said, getting off the stool. 

“Uh, where are you going?” Zeth asked, watching his boyfriend walk through one of the store’s aisles. “Baek-”

When he noticed Baekgyeol come out of the aisle with four cups of ramen in his hand, he widened his eyes in surprise, realizing what his boyfriend was doing. “Baekgyeol, no-”

“Nope! Too late!” Baekgyeol set the cups of ramen on the counter. “What would you like to drink, baby?”

Zeth grabbed one of the ramen cups, staring at it in his hands. “I told you not to spend any more money on me,” he said softly.

“You need to eat, Zeth!” Baekgyeol came back with two bottles of lemonade and a pack of snickers. “Hello, sir, I would like to make a purchase in your lovely convenience store.”

As much as Zeth wanted to scold Baekgyeol for spending money on him like always, he could still feel his cheeks turn red at the gift. “I- I don’t even own this place,” he muttered, scanning the ramen cups. “I am your average minimum-wage Korean high school worker.” 

“No, you are Kim Jaemin, aka Zeth, my lovely boyfriend,” Baekgyeol said, pecking his cheek. “There are two things I like to eat in this world: you and donuts-”

“Oh my god, Baekgyeol, not  _ now _ !” Zeth said, though he couldn’t help but laugh. “You always have dirty thoughts in your head.”

“Well, it’s your fault for being so goddamn sexy,” Baekgyeol said, grabbing one of the ramen cups to head towards the back, where they had hot water and a microwave. “But I’m going to eat ramen right now- no,  _ we _ .”

  
  


***

On Tuesday during school, Minhyun had just gotten out of his class when he headed towards his locker, putting back his calculus book to grab his advanced physics textbook instead; he was heading to that class after lunch, which was his period right now. He intended to spend it studying at the library, like always, barely touching his rice; school was more important than food, after all. 

He closed his locker shut and headed towards the library, opening the big glass doors. Usually there were some kids here during lunch period, but since it was the middle of week (exams were usually on Fridays) and they weren’t during final exam season, there weren’t that many students present today, so he was able to study in peace. 

Or so, that’s what he thought. 

Minhyun had a particular spot where he liked to sit in the library. Towards the back, there was a study desk that he always chose, since it was the farthest away from everyone else, giving him less distractions. Plus, it was also located next to some reference books that he always used for studying. 

And just what every other teenager in the entire world cared about, there were outlets for charging your laptop and phone. Obviously. 

Minhyun walked towards his spot, thinking of the upcoming exams he had this week, when he noticed that there were two backpacks on the study desk, along with a water bottle covered in stickers filled with chocolate. 

_ That  _ surprised him. Rarely someone ever took Minhyun’s spot in the library, but it did happen every once in a while. He’ll just sit next to one of the nearby tables. 

He lifted his backpack higher and looked around, trying to find another spot to sit, when he noticed two students at the corner in the library, sitting on the floor as they looked at a gigantic picture book. 

“Look at this one!” one of them said, awing at it. Minhyun couldn’t tell what they were looking at, but there seem to be scribbles on it. “Man, I wish I could draw like that.”

“You can if you want to,” the friend asked, and Minhyun suddenly remembered why the two students looked familiar. “Youngwoong, you’re a really good drawing.”

“Yeah, but I can’t make a  _ webtoon _ ,” Youngwoong reminded him. “Everyone says I have stupid ideas,” he pouted. 

Hyogi pushed himself off the floor. “Hold on, that reminds me of a post I saw earlier,” he said, walking towards the desk with the bags and water bottle. “I’m going to steal your chocolate milk.”

“You can have it, I didn’t put enough Nesquik this morning,” Youngwoong shouted, staring at the picture book again (or what Minhyun now assumed to be a drawing reference book. “Man, this character looks well drawn, if only  _ I  _ could do that.”

Hyogi uncapped the bottle with not-enough chocolate milk and took a sip when he made eye contact with Minhyun, who had forgotten a bit too late that he was still staring at the friends. 

Oops.

Hyogi frowned when he saw Minhyun, who just realized his mistake. “You look familiar,” he said, capping the water bottle. “Um..”

“Target,” Minhyun blurted out, trying to calm down his sympathetic nervous system which was making him blush. “Saturday.”

Hyogi slapped his forehead. “Of course. You helped me and then Youngwoong was shouting like a dumbass.”

Youngwoong looked up from his book. “I am  _ not  _ a- oh shit, it’s Tuesday,” he remembered, looking back at the drawing book. “I am a dumb ass on Tuesdays.”

“I’m the dumb ass Thursdays,” Hyogi reminded his friend, before turning his attention to Minhyun again. “Yeah, I forgot, sorry, the way you were looking at me made me think I was about to get bullied.”

Minhyun could feel his face turn red again- dammit, why did he have blood in his arteries again? “I swear, I wasn’t going to do anything,” he stammered. “I just- I just came to study.”

“That’s  _ always  _ the plan,” Hyogi agreed. “You just described the daily life of every goddamn Korean student in this country.”

“That’s because you guys aren’t  _ exciting _ ,” Youngwoong chimed in again. “Mr. Hyun, please convince my friend to get ramen with me this week.”

“Youngwoong, can’t you wait till our paychecks?” Hyogi yelled at him. “I told you not to spend on me.”

“It’s Youngwoong Dumbass Tuesday!” Youngwoong shouted. “I’m not  _ listening~” _

Hyogi sighed, taking their bags off the desk. “Good luck on exams, Minhyun,” Hyogi said, waving at him. “At least you actually  _ get  _ to study.”

Minhyun watched as Hyogi sat down next to Youngwoong, the latter rambling about something in the drawing book, when he couldn’t help but wonder if, despite thinking that they were wasting their time, if there was something he had been missing out on. 

***

Seulchan worked on Wednesday, which meant missing out on the some event on Twitch, but at least for the four hours he will work today will go towards his fund of the new Playstation Five, which he has vowed to get. He could only play games on the family computer, his phone, or his dad’s Xbox, and he has been  _ dying  _ to get one of his own gaming consoles. 

His family was really unfair. His brother Wonwoo always gets some expensive gifts every year; last year, it was the new Nintendo Switch, which he only played for two hours before breaking the controls and never touching it again. The year before  _ that,  _ his mother got him the Playstation, along with an expensive bike, and the year before  _ that _ , he got a very new iPad and some really big lego sets. 

Meanwhile, Seulchan got a $10 gift card to the movie theater, which one, he doesn’t even  _ have  _ friends (at least, real life friends, anyways), and two, it was a gift card his mother won in a raffle a month ago, one that Seulchan himself entered for her and let her have it,  _ precisely  _ because, again, he had no friends. 

Lovely. 

Seulchan doesn’t really do anything on his birthdays. His mother gets the same cake every year despite Seulchan being allergic to one of the ingredients, and her and his father can never get time off on their jobs to celebrate it, so he spends it playing on his phone and doing homework so he doesn’t get yelled at. 

Speaking of getting yelled at, he left his house an hour early to find his old, too-short-for-him bike so that he can go to work. He was not going to ask his mother for a ride after the last stunt she pulled on him. 

He biked his way towards the store, already hating how he had to wear his uniform in public. Why couldn’t they wear plain blue jeans and a white shirt? How hard was that? Why these hideous khakis anyways?

Seulchan arrived at the Target early, so he locked his bike on one of the bike racks and headed inside, thankful for the invention of air conditioning and that he had time to look at the games. 

There was a display of new arrivals, a few catching his eye. One of them was a new Mario game that he’s been wanting for a while, and there was a poster advertising the new Pikmin 3 game coming soon. There were the EA sports, but Seulchan always ignored those.

He placed his hands on the glass case, peering inside, wondering what it would be like to play one of those games. Man, he  _ really  _ needed a console of his own. 

“Hey, I didn’t know you worked today.” Seulchan looked behind him to see the guy who gave him the free ride Saturday, Woojin. “What a coincidence.”

“Pfft, I have to earn money  _ somehow _ ,” Seulchan said, stepping away from the glass case of the games. “It’s whatever, I should probably clock in now.”

“There’s still five minutes till five,” Woojin pointed, only to be ignored by Seulchan who walked away, hands stuffed in his pockets. 

_ What made him so depressed, _ Woojin thought, shrugging as he followed Seulchan for his shift to begin. 

  
  


***

  
  


Youngwoong worked on Wednesday as well, alongside with his best bud in the entire world, Hyogi, thankfully. 

Sadly, though, work was work, so while they had Hyogi up in the register, they made Youngwoong stock up some boxed foods in the market section, which was almost an out of body experience - did  _ anybody  _ ever buy food at Target, anyways?

He was piling some over priced breakfast bars on the shelves when he heard his manager call for him. Confused, he turned around to see him at the end of the aisle, alongside another employee who Youngwoong couldn’t recognize yet. 

“Did you want me?” Youngwoong asked, getting terrified. Was he getting fired? Did the manager not like how Youngwoong bothered Hyogi and was firing his best friend instead? Was he-”

“Yeah, we hired another employee,” his manager said, patting the back of the newcomer. “Youngwoong, this is Junghak, I’m asking you to show him the ropes.”

Youngwoong stared at the bars in his hands before looking at his manager and Junghak again. “But sir, this is my second day-”

“Then you should be good!” he said, before leaving the two alone. “I have complete faith in you, Youngwoong!”   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stream baby come back home


	6. Stocking Up some Sanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE BUT THIS STORY IS NOT ABANDONED, PROMISE

It was pretty easy to show Junghak how the job was supposed to be done, since it was Wednesday and the store was pretty dead for some reason. 

Youngwoong himself barely started learning how to use the register, for example, but it was quite fun to teach it to Junghak. The latter had good memorization, it seemed like, so there was that. 

“And then this button is how you do returns,” Youngwoong exclaimed proudly, thankful that he knew how to do it. “In Hyogi’s first day, this woman was yelling at him about some frame or something, people who do returns are pretty mad, so you have to really remember how to do them.”

Junghak nodded. This job was pretty stupid in his opinion; all you do is scan and press buttons. He couldn’t imagine wanting to deal with people yelling at you for a fucking frame. 

Youngwoong grabbed a wrapped package from underneath the register, ripping it opening. It was full of the plastic bags that the store used. “We should stock up,” he said, grabbing a handful. “There might be people soon- oh look, that’s Hyogi!” he exclaimed, pointing at another employee at the distance. “Hyogi!!!”

The so-called Hyogi turned around to face them, his face filled with worry. “Youngwoong, you know we’re not supposed to yell!” he whisper-yelled at him. “A customer will complain!” 

“Oh, we won’t get in trouble,” Youngwoong said, waving him off. “But come here real quick then! Look, meet Junghak, he’s a new employee just like us!”

Hyogi looked around the store, thankful that there were barely any customers, and made his way quickly towards the two. “Nice to meet you,” he said frantically, bowing down to Junghak. “I hope you’re enjoying it here-”

“Don’t worry, Hyogi, it’s been calm today, thankfully,” Youngwoong said. “Man, I’m having fun here to be honest, I’m just sad we still have to go back to do homework.”

Junghak frowned, remembering he still didn’t know Youngwoong’s age. “How old are you anyways?” he asked him, curious. Even though Youngwoong acted like a high schooler, there was no way he was in high school if he had a job already. “Are you a college freshman or something?”

Youngwoong’s eyes widened. “You think I look like a college freshman?” 

“We’re both juniors,” Hyogi said, shrugging. “But in high school, not college.”

This time it was Junghak’s turn to widen his eyes. “Hold on- wait, what?”

Oh, hell fucking no, he did  _ not  _ just think a sixteen year old is hot, he did  _ not-  _ oh, fuck, fuck, fuck-

“Yeah, we’re both seventeen!” Youngwoong said, grinning. “Only one more high school year and then boom, college, I’m really excited.”

Thank fucking  _ god  _ he’s seventeen, not sixteen, Junghak thought to himself. The maximum age gap he could deal with was two years, anything else was creepy beyond reason. 

“You’re seventeen but you have a job?” Junghak asked them, confused. “Why?”

Junghak could see how Hyogi frowned, but Youngwoong still had his positive energy going. “Lol, we’re just broke,” he said, putting the plastic bags on the hooks. “But at least now I can buy Hyogi all the ramen that I want-”

“Actually, I can buy my  _ own  _ ramen now, for your information,” Hyogi said, rolling his eyes. “That’s why I got the job in the first place, remember?”

“Nah, nah, I can’t  _ hear  _ you!” Youngwoong shouted. “I can treat  _ whoever  _ I want and  _ whenever  _ I want!”

_ This is some intense bickering _ , Junghak thought to himself, as he wondered when was the last time someone treated him something as cheap as ramen. 

  
  


***

Woojin left work around 10 pm, where it was already dark outside. He didn’t really plan to do much when he arrived home, maybe have some ramen and watch television. He didn’t have any assignments due last time he recalled. 

He bought himself a cherry coke and walked out of the store, scrolling on his phone to see a missed message from his mom about when he was going to visit back home again. Woojin had planned to visit in maybe two weeks, but he would have to wait to make a decision now that he had a job and needed to check the schedule. 

He pressed the button on his car keys to unlock the car, the parking lot illuminating for a split second as the front lights flashed. In that split second, though, he was able to see someone in the dark. 

There was his co-worker, Seulchan, who was dragging along a bicycle in front of him that had a flat tire. 

“Hey,” Woojin said, causing Seulchan to look at him. It was hard though, since again, it was dark. “What are you doing?”

Seulchan had a disappointed look in his face. “Someone popped my tire earlier,” he said. “So I’m just walking home with it in hand, I’m trying to text my mom to see if she would pick me up but-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Woojin said, pointing at his car nearby. “I’ll take you home if you want, I don’t have anything planned for today, anyways.”

“I- I have a bike, though,” Seulchan stammered, looking at his bike. “I can’t leave it, I have to fix it so that I can go to work with it.”

“I mean- you can just put it at the back of the car,” Woojin said, shrugging. “It’s fine.”

Seulchan looked surprised but didn’t say anything else, patting the handlebars of his bicycle. “You’re so lucky that you’re an adult.”

“I’m, like, two years older than you,” Woojin said. “I’m barely an adult.”

Seulchan must be feeling like shit right now, Woojin thought. Something must have happened to him before he came to work, explaining his crappy mood, plus add in the stress of work and now his flat bike, the kid must  _ not  _ be having a good day. Didn’t he still have school tomorrow, too?

Woojin led Seulchan to where his car was, popping the trunk so that Seulchan could put his bike in the back. “You know, as the years get older, sometimes I miss the simpler past times when I didn’t have to do so much.”

“Oh, you’re a college kid,” Seulchan summarized. 

Woojin wanted to laugh. Is that how depressed college kids were these days? He thought he was the only one. “I am confused as to how you got to that statement but I won’t ask.”

Seulchan shrugged. “You just act wise but you’re not a boomer, so I made a wild guess,” he said. “I hate boomers a lot,” he shuddered. 

“God, I hate boomers, too,” Woojin said, handing Seulchan his drink. The latter was probably thirsty. “Do you want some?”

***   
  


It was Friday, and usually Minhyun would spend the evening at the library, thankful that it was pretty empty of students (unless it was a week before finals; then everyone was cramming.)

However, Minhyun was scheduled to work this Friday, so he was going to have to lie to his parents about going to the library and head there instead. The good thing was that he was heading there right after school, so they weren’t going to question his whereabouts nor what he was doing, only expect that he arrives home before his curfew. 

That’s why, when class ended, Minhyun was at his locker, stuffing the textbooks he was going to use that weekend into his backpack. He probably wouldn’t have time to do work today if he was going to be at the store, so he was going to have to sleep later and wake up earlier Saturday if he wanted to finish it on time. 

He stuffed his calculus textbook next to the advanced physics one and zipped his backpack, grabbing his organic chemistry textbook as well to hold in his hand when he heard someone call out his name.

“Minhyun? Is that you?”

Confused, Minhyun, turned around to see the two friends from his work, Youngwoong and Hyogi. Youngwoong was running towards him, hands clutching the strap of his back, while his friend Hyogi was catching up with him, a light shade of pink on his face.

“Hey, Minhyun!” Youngwoong said, reaching up to Minhyun and his locker. “Do you work today with us? Hyogi and I go today, and we’re a bit scared, you know how there’s always a lot of people on Friday.”

Minhyun blinked, taking into account what Youngwoong just said to him. 

“Um, yeah, I- yeah, I work today,” Minhyun said, closing his locker slowly. “I work until eight PM.”

“Nice! Me too, but they scheduled Hyogi until 9,” Youngwoong kept rambling, right when Hyogi appeared next to him, slightly out of breath. “Hyogi! Minhyun works with us today!” 

Hyogi nodded. “Yeah, that’s cool,” he said quietly.

“Hey, you know that other kid that works with us? The other one in high school?” Youngwoong continued talking. “The one who always has his little video game.”

Minhyun shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not really good with names.”

“Same,” Hyogi said, rolling his eyes. “Youngwoong, we don’t talk to everybody like you.”

“Come on, Hyogi, no one said we can’t all talk to each other at work!” Youngwoong defended himself. “Plus, that Woojin dude creeps me out. I think he’s a college student, like that other dude Junghak.”

Oh, right, Junghak. The guy entered a bit later than them, but he, along with them six, were the youngest people who worked in the store, if Minhyun remembered correctly.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to bother you,” Hyogi said to Minhyun, bowing down a little. “We’ll get going, we were just going to work.”

“No, you’re okay,” Minhyun said. “I just- no one ever talks to me unless it’s school related, I was just confused.”

“Ew, academics,” Youngwoong said, wrinkling his nose. “Bleh.”

Minhyun took out his phone to look at the time. “Yeah, I have to head soon to take the bus to head there,” he said. “I don’t want to be late.”

“Wait, you’re taking the bus?” Youngwoong asked. “You can ride with us! I got my license the other week and I can drive now!”

Behind him, Hyogi was making a surprised face, his arms forming an x as he mouthed “don’t do it.”

“Um, thanks for the offer,” Minhyun said, “but-”

“He’s literally going to kill you,” Hyogi piped up. “I swear.”

“I’m  _ not  _ that bad of a driver!” Youngwoong exclaimed. “Hey, Minhyun, you should come and hug Hyogi in the backstreet since it scares him so much and he needs to be held-”

Hyogi choked at Youngwoong’s sentence. “I don’t think Minhyun wants to hug me.”

Youngwoong frowned. “Well,  _ I  _ like hugging you cause you’re my best friend,” he said. “That would be his problem-”

Minhyun looked at his phone again. It’s rude to leave during a middle of a conversation, so at this rate he was going to miss his bus stop. Might as well take up the offer - he might be able to get some homework done in the car. “I’ll come if it’s no trouble,” he said, bowing down.

“Oh, please, no formalities,” Youngwoong said, linking his arm with Hyogi. “Off to Target! Man, today’s going to be a great day at work, I just know it.”

  
  


***

Unlike some people, Zeth did  _ not  _ work at Target that Friday. 

However, unfortunately, he still worked. 

It has been only an hour since he started his shift at the convenience store again, doing his homework at the register. It was going to be a long shift - he didn’t get out until midnight, and he just knew there were going to be drunk people loitering here late at night like they always did. 

He heard the doorbell chime, so he looked at the doors to see a woman enter the store, wearing expensive clothing that he knew only because there were some people on Baekgyeol’s campus wearing that brand, and they all came from rich families. 

Why she was at a convenience store, Zeth had no clue, but nonetheless, he put his homework aside, keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t steal anything. His boss told him that on Tuesday someone stole a snickers bar, and Zeth didn’t really care (it was a freaking candy bar, not an Iphone 24 or something) but they had to be on more alert now. 

She came up to the register a few minutes later, setting gum, condoms, and a can of diet coke. “I’ll be taking this,” she said in a serious voice. 

Zeth shrugged, scanning the items in front of him as she was tapping her long, manicured nails on the counter, huffing every five seconds with her hand on her hip. He was used to rude customers. 

She looked around, crossing her arms around chest, when the doorbell chimed again, this time a chaebol guy entering, his airpods in as he ignored them and headed to where the coolers were. 

They both looked at him, and the girl’s eyes widened. “JUNGHAK!”

The chaebol looked at her, frowning, taking out an air pod. “What do you want?” he argued. 

Zeth rolled his eyes, grabbing the gum to put in a bag. “Your total is going to be 23,600 won,” he said in a deadpan voice. 

“Oh, I just wanted to know how you were,” she said in a higher-pitch voice, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “I missed you, you know.”

“Last time I remember, you’re a homophobic bitch,” the chaebol said, heading up to Zeth to give him a fifty thousand won banknote. “Keep the change,” he said, taking two cherry cokes with him out the door. 

“Uh, Junghak!” the girl shrieked again, taking out a handful of banknotes out her bag as well to throw at Zeth before running after the chaebol, not taking any of her items with her.

A few seconds passed before Zeth sighed, cancelling her order before ringing up the two cherry cokes, pocketing the change. He was happy with it, thinking of the groceries his family could buy, but he couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

Rich people. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS IM ON A ROLL I UPDATED THREE STORIES IN FOUR DAYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS  
> ALSO STREAM TARGET BEAUTFIUL


	7. The High School Agenda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long!!! hope you guys like this chapter!

“So I officially hate working in Friday’s,” Hyogi announced as he stocked the candy bars at the register line. “And also, now I want to die.”

“Hyogi, you exaggerate too much,” Youngwoong said, wiping the screen of the register. “But same.”

After a long, insane rush at the Target that Friday, both boys were now worn out and desperately wanted to head back to their homes. Luckily, for Yougwoong, he was scheduled to leave soon; he had half an hour left at 8, but Hyogi still had another hour to go.

Youngwoong, despite being clocked out, was going to stay the extra hour so that he and his best friend could go home together, so he planned on browsing the book shelves for a while, since he knew one of the new employees Seulchan stocked it earlier. Before that, it had been bare as fuck; the only books up had been those for adults with weird life tips that people follow that don’t make a difference anyways. 

He finished cleaning the register and set out to stock more plastic bags on the hooks. “We should do something when we get home, something  _ fun _ .”

“Can’t, we haven’t even eaten dinner yet,” Hyogi reminded him. “And we both have homework-”

“It’s  _ Friday,  _ Hyogi,” Youngwoong reminded him. “We don’t have to do it today, you know.”

“Yeah, but the last thing I want is to fall behind,” Hyogi said. “Besides, aren’t you tired? You don’t have to stay here and wait for me, you know.”

Youngwoong frowned. “Why not?”

Hyogi stared at the empty cardboard box in his hand, refusing to look at his friend. 

“I just think that you shouldn’t do so much for me,” Hyogi whispered, tossing the empty box back on the small cart he had, filled with other candy boxes for him to fill the shelves. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I just feel, well, guilty, I guess.”

“But it’s not like you're forcing me,” Youngwoong pointed out. “Besides, Hyogi, again, it’s Friday! We have to spend it together, no matter  _ what  _ we’re doing.”

Hyogi shrugged. “Yeah, but you should still do your homework.”

Youngwoong groaned, slamming the handful of plastic bags on the conveyor belt. “How  _ dare  _ you remind me of homework, especially when I’m starving.”

“Well, we can always get ramen after work,” Hyogi said. “It’s not like we have to go to the store anyways.”

“Right! We have a discount!” Youngwoong leaned over, begging Hyogi to come forward. “ _ Hyogi _ -”

Hyogi sighed, leaning forward. “Hmh?”

“You’re so smart,” Youngwoong said, patting his friend’s hair. “I’ll be dead without you by my side.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Hyogi muttered, repeating his friend’s words from earlier. 

“I can be whatever my heart desires,” Youngwoong defended himself.”

Hyogi replaced the last empty box of candy and set it back on the cart. “I’m going to the back room to throw this all away,” he said, pulling the cart away. “Remember what I told you, don’t let people push you around.”

“I won’t!” Youngwoong exclaimed, waving him off. “Be careful! The storage room is scary.”

He watched as Hyogi went away, stopping in his tracks midway to pick up a box that fell on accident, when Youngwoong heard someone come behind him. 

He turned around and smiled when he realized it was one of the new workers, Junghak. “Oh, hey, I didn’t know you worked today,” he said, grinning. “What time do you get off?” 

Junghak got startled when Youngwoong took notice of him. “Uh… nine. Yeah, nine.”

“Oh, just like Hyogi over there,” Youngwoong said, pointing at Hyogi far away only to realize that he was now gone. “He gets out at nine but I leave at eight, even though we told the manager we want to be scheduled together. I think she hates me.”

“Pfft, how can  _ anyone  _ hate you?” Junghak muttered, only for his eyes to widen when he realized he said it outloud. “Ah, fuck, I meant, well- maybe she’s just a rude bitch.”

“No, I think it’s because I knocked some pasta sauce jars the other day,” Youngwoong said, sighing. “I knew I wasn’t going to be  _ perfect  _ at this job but I didn’t think I’d be so bad at it.”

“I think that if someone expects you to be perfect, then they already have a problem,” Junghak stated. “And trust me, you’re doing  _ way  _ better at this job than me. I hate this place.”

“Yeah, gosh, it sucks being broke!” Youngwoong exclaimed. “But having money is not important anyways, I’m just glad me and Hyogi get to work together.”

Yeah, not to brag, but Junghak couldn’t relate to be broke. Unfortunately, though, he couldn’t relate to working with someone together either. 

“Sounds fun,” he muttered. “Sounds fun.”

***

Seulchan’s shift had finished over ten minutes ago, but he  _ really  _ needed to buy a game, and he didn’t know which one was a better deal. 

Unfortunately for him, math wasn’t a strong suit of his, so maybe he could ask someone for help. However, he wasn’t going to ask strangers here at Target, so his only hope was asking an employee. 

He decided to ask an employee that looked to be around his age, and when he saw one that matched his description, his face instantly rose up. That dude was one of the smartest students at school, surely he would help him figure out which deal was better. 

Seulchan lifted his backpack higher and sprinted across the aisle until the other employee took notice of him, freezing. “Minhyun! Minhyun, Minhyun, you got to help me!”

Minhyun gave him an awkward wave. “Uh, hey… uh-”

“Seulchan, don’t call me Junggeun,” Seulchan reminded him. “But anyways, I need your help with something.”

“Uh, my shift ended a few minutes ago,” Minhyun stated. 

“So did mine, I need help with math,” Seulchan explained. “You’re good at math, right? What math class are you, anyways?”

Minhyun glanced at their surroundings before making eye contact with Seulchan again. “... Calculus.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what that is,” Seulchan said truthfully. “BUT! So there's this one game that’s at $49.99 BUT our discount is ten percent, right? But they have this deal where if you get two games, you can get them at $39.99 each and you know we can’t use discounts for deals-”

“The second one would be better,” Minhyun explained. “Ten percent of fifty dollars is only five dollars, so you’ll pay over thirty five for it after it if you include tax. However, the second one, you’re getting ten dollars discounted per game before tax, so that one is a better price.”

Seulchan raised his eyes. “Damn, that was fast,” he said. “How did you know all that?”

Minhyun shrugged. “I mean, it’s just percentages,” he said. “It’s not that hard. Once you learn certain tricks of how to calculate things in math faster and you memorize them, everything becomes easier.” 

Seulchan nodded. “Spoken like a true philosopher, damn, you can pass a college student. You probably already know what you want to do in life.”

“I- no, not really,” Minhyun answered. “I’m more focused on going to college first, you know.”

“Uh, don’t colleges want to know what you want to think?” Seulchan asked. “Eh, not that I would know, my grades suck, but anyways, any girl or guy would be lucky to have you. Thanks!”

Seulchan lifted his backpack up higher and walked away, no doubt heading to the video games section, leaving Minhyun confused at the center of the aisle. 

Later, he would ponder on how Seulchan said girl or  _ guy _ , having never thought he could date a guy, but for now, all he could think about was, well… what  _ did  _ he want to do with his life?

***

Zeth found himself working at Target at seven in the morning, meaning he had to be awake well before six.

It didn’t help that he slept at two am, since had to work at his other job at the convenience store the day before, but he couldn’t help but stare at the clock every five minutes, hoping that time would magically speed up faster and he could go home and take a nap. 

For the fifth time that hour, Zeth looked at the clock again, reading 11:17 AM. He didn’t get off until 3 PM, which thankfully wasn’t that late in the day, but he only had a few hours until he later had to go to the convenience store and work until midnight as well. 

“I’m going to puke,” Zeth muttered to himself, glaring at the register, as if it were its fault that he had to work. “I hate life.”

He closed and opened his eyes over and over, forcing himself to stay awake when he realized there was a customer in front of him. “Oh, I’m sorry, how may I help you- what are you doing here?”

Baekgyeol pressed a hand over his chest. “How- how  _ dare  _ you offend me,” Baekgyeol said jokingly, setting down some items on the conveyor belt. “What if I just want to spend some time with my boyfriend?”

“Your boyfriend who might throw up any second now,” Zeth said, grabbing the first item that Baekgyeol had laid out for him, a bag of coffee beans. “I know you’re not having any more caffeine.”

“I am not,” Baekgyeol lied. “I take your advice very seriously.”

Zeth stared at Baekgyeol, rubbing his eyes. He knew he had eyebags, but his boyfriend was being too kind to say he looked like shit. “Your college is going okay, right?” he asked softly, voice laced with concern. “You don’t talk about it much.”

“No, it’s going fine,” Baekgyeol said truthfully. “I’m sorry, I know you said to cut down on caffeine, but, well… baby steps, right?” 

Zeth sighed, scanning the bag of coffee beans on the scanner. “I know, I know I don’t have the right to say anything, I’m sorry-”

“No, you’re good, I don’t mind you getting worried,” Baekgyeol said. “You know I get worried about you too-”

“Please don’t mention my eyes,” Zeth interrupted him, grabbing the next item. “Lettuce?"

“Yeah, I, uh-” Baekgyeol pointed to other items he had out, like a bag of chicken strips, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. “I’m trying to eat healthy, I thought I’ll make a salad for lunch.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Zeth said, scanning the items, placing everything in the plastic bags carefully. “It’s just you  _ never  _ use lettuce when you cook.”

“That’s true,” Baekgyeol agreed. “It’s not like your favorite dish needs it anyways.”

“My favorite- if I find you buying ingredients-” Zeth looked at the conveyor belt, where he could see the familiar items used to make ginseng chicken soup. “Baekgyeol-”

“No, it’s  _ my  _ money and I can treat my boyfriend however I want,” Baekgyeol insisted. “And, anyways, I  _ was  _ going to ask you if you wanted to come over after you shift and hang out. We can just sleep or whatever.”

Zeth grabbed the chicken and scanned it. “I mean, if you want,” he said, bagging up the chicken. “I work at the convenience store at six, and I get out of here at three, but I’m just  _ so  _ tired-”

“Yeah, we can sleep together, I  _ just  _ washed the bed sheets with that new softener I got the other day and I think you’ll like the scent,  _ but  _ promise you’ll eat before you sleep.”

“I won’t promise anything,” Zeth said, handing reaching over to grab another item before he stopped. “But… you  _ really  _ only want us to sleep?”

Baekgyeol shrugged. “Yeah, I can always use a nap, why?”

Zeth raised an eye at him. “Hm, wonder how  _ this  _ will help with sleeping?” he said, grabbing the lube bottle and holding it up to Baekgyeol.

“That is for  _ you  _ to find out later,” Baekgyeol said, smirking. “But not today because we’re going to be sleeping.”

“I- okay, well, tell me when you’ll use it so that I can dress better,” Zeth said. “You’re not the only one who can make surprises.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that!” Baekgyeol exclaimed. “Man, I can’t  _ wait  _ until you shift is over.”

“Trust me, me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D


End file.
